Swift and Terrible
by Lancaeriel Greenleaf
Summary: The twins humiliate a certain prince... and receive the consequences... Review please!


**Disclaimer: **Alas! I do not own Legolas or the twins. All characters belong to J.R.R. Tolkien; I have merely borrowed them for a short while and do plan to return them... eventually...

It was a calm, peaceful night. The moon shone high overhead, silver light shining down to cast a distorted reflection on the swift-moving river below. All was silent save the sound of rushing water and the occasional hoot of an owl. Legolas Greenleaf looked down from his perch atop a tree branch at a shadow that was moving on the ground beneath him. He checked to make sure everything was in order and spoke under his breath as another shadow followed the first, "Good luck, _mellon n__î__n_."

Quiet whispers reached his keen ears. "Elladan, this worries me. It's been almost two weeks since we got Legolas, and he, so far as we know, has done nothing to get us back!" Elrohir's slightly panicky tone caused the ghost of a smile to grace Legolas' fair features. "True, he is normally one for swift retaliation, but what we did to him wasn't so bad this time. Perhaps he's forgiven us," the older of the Peredhil twins answered back, a small hint of confidence creeping into his voice.

The twins paused under the tree where Legolas was waiting, and he thought to himself, "_Perhaps I've forgiven you? Ha! Maybe after tonight…_" "We stole his clothes and replaced them with Arwen's, and _then_ replaced the things he washes his hair with with honey. You really believe he would let that go so easily? Nay, _gwador n__î__n_, he's plotting something."

"_I've waited long enough,"_ Legolas thought, and he jumped down, slowing his fall with the slender elven rope he had been holding for the past two hours. As he fell, the rope pulled on the net that was right under the twins, entangling them in it and yanking them into the air. "AI! _Ceno_, Elladan! LEGOLAS!" Elrohir yelled down at the Mirkwood prince silhouetted in the moonlight.

"Yes?" he answered calmly, smirking at the trapped twins. A sticky substance oozed out of an overturned bucket Elladan had been holding that Legolas had failed to notice. The younger twin growled, "Let us down! We were in the middle of something important!"

Legolas crossed his arms, "Ah, in other words, you want to get down and back to Rivendell before Elrond realizes you've gone missing?" A scowl crossed Elladan's face and he gritted his teeth as he said, "We were collecting sap for Ada. Please let us down."

"So, you were collecting sap?" Nods from both of the twins answered him. "In the middle of the night?" More nods. "For your Ada?" Sideways glances at each other… then more nods. "I see. You were planning on pranking him, weren't you?"

Elrohir sighed, "Fine, yes. Now will you please let us down now!" Legolas pretended to think for a moment, "Let's see: you stole my clothes, publicly humiliated me, and… I just spent the last two weeks working on this plan and building this net. No, I do not believe I shall… Don't worry, the Rivendell patrol comes this way. They're sure to notice you, and I'll let them let you down." He started to walk away.

"Legolas, I swear, if you do this, our revenge will be swift and terrible!" Elrohir called after him. Legolas kept walking and disappeared, melting into the shadows.

"Our revenge will be swift and terrible? Elrohir, we never came up with a back-up plan!" Elladan growled once Legolas was out of sight, hitting his brother on the arm and making the net swing dangerously.

Elrohir grinned wickedly, "_We _haven't come up with a back-up plan; I happened to think ahead… and believe me… our revenge… it _will_ be swift and terrible."

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The sky was streaked with different shades of pink, purple, blue, and orange early the next morning. A very grumpy pair of twins were being escorted back to the safe haven of Imladris by Glorfindel and a few others. "So, you expect me to believe that you two went out into the forest… at midnight… to pick up some herbs for your father… because midnight is the best time to do it… and Legolas just showed up and, for no reason at all, caught you in a net and pulled you into a tree?"

The twins exchanged glances and Elladan answered, "Yes." Glorfindel sighed and urged his horse to go a little faster, "You still haven't explained the sap. How did you manage to get that all over yourselves?"

"Legolas… uh… dumped it onto us before he pulled us into his net," Elrohir lied on the spot.

"So, you weren't alerted that something was wrong when he dumped sap on you? Wouldn't you have known to move away from that spot?"

Another look was shared, "_He never misses a thing, does he?_" Glorfindel stared at them for a moment before continuing, "I won't tell your Ada, if you promise not to tell Legolas about my part in the last prank."

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That afternoon, Elladan and Elrohir were talking in Elladan's room about their revenge against the Mirkwood prince. "What I don't understand is: how did Legolas find out where we were? It cannot be merely chance. How-?" Elrohir trailed off as the answer dawned on him, and the twins growled in unison, "Estel."

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Translations:

_**Mellon n**__**î**__**n: **_My friend.

_**Gwador n**__**î**__**n: **_My brother.

_**Ceno, Elladan!:**_ See, Elladan!

**A/N: **I would like to start a fic on the twins' revenge upon Estel, but lack ideas. Feedback and reviews are greatly appreciated. If I got any translations wrong, I apologize, as I am not an Elvish scholar. Anyways, thank you for reading my story, and I hope you ejoyed it!


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